Miami Heat: They’re to blame for KZ Okpala’s Summer League struggles

Miami Heat forward KZ Okpala is in the midst of a nightmarish Las Vegas Summer League campaign, shooting 22.2 percent on 9 attempts per game. Okpala has only scored 6.7 points per game in three Summer League outings.

Okpala’s poor start has led Miami Heat beat-writers to suggest that he isn’t ready to be a part of the rotation. Ethan Skolnick of Five Reasons Sports tweeted on August 9th that Okpala was unplayable when discussing which of the back-end roster players should be in the team’s rotation.

Although Okpala may not get playing time, the Summer League struggles are not his fault as the Miami Heat are putting the spotlight on his biggest weakness: shooting. Okpala has spent a significant portion of his summer league minutes behind the arc.

Let’s take a look at why Miami Heat forward KZ Okpala is struggling in this season’s 2021 Las Vegas Summer League so far.

For example, during his first Summer League game against the Denver Nuggets on August 8th, Okpala stood on the right wing as Max Strus brought the ball up the court and eventually took a pull-up three. Okpala’s role has led him to take 44.4 percent of his shots from behind the arc, attempting 4 threes per game.

It is not the first time that the team has chosen to use Okpala as a floor spacer, as he took 52.1 percent of his shots from behind the arc last season, averaging 1.4 per game. However, Okpala has never been a good three-point shooter as he shot less than 34 percent from the three at the University of Stanford in two seasons on 2.3 shots a game. Okpala didn’t improve his three-point shooting as a professional, making 28.2 percent of his attempts in the G League on 2 shots per game.

Despite Okpala’s struggles, the Miami Heat continued to use him as a floor spacer when he joined them. Okpala has averaged 1.2 threes per game in 42 appearances for the Heat: 50.5 percent of his total field goal attempts. He has shot 33 percent on these attempts.

It is unfair to expect Okpala to thrive when the Heat are putting him in situations that spotlight his weaknesses. If the Heat wants Okpala to succeed, they should put him closer to the basket, as he shot 55.4 percent in the restricted area during his lone G League season on 3.7 attempts per game.

The team could get Okpala closer to the basket in multiple ways: they could use him in the post or as a roll man. The Heat was 23rd in post-ups last season, averaging 3.6 per game. Bam Adebayo led the team in the category, averaging 2.1 per game. When Adebayo goes to the bench, the team could bring in Okpala, and he could take over Adebayo’s role to see if he has greater success.

On the other hand, the team was 22nd in roll man possessions, averaging 5.8 per game. Like post-ups, Adebayo also led the team in roll man possessions, averaging 3 per game: 51.7 percent of the team’s possessions. Therefore, once again, when Adebayo goes to the bench, they could bring in KZ Okpala if they keep him on the roster to simulate Adebayo’s role to see if he has better success.

However, if the team doesn’t want to make this adjustment, they should look to trade him for a future draft pick. In conclusion, Okpala’s struggles are related to the Heat not putting him in the best position to succeed as his biggest weakness is shooting.